A reconciliation committee is trying to reach a compromise recommendation to send out to the full House and Senate by December 13th, when Congress is scheduled to adjourn for the Christmas holidays.  If both chambers of Congress cannot pass a bill to send to President Obama’s desk, a 1949 version will effectively become the law of the land.

The big hang up is food stamps, currently referred to as the SNAP program.  The Senate passed a $955 billion five-year bill in June (with bipartisan support) that cut $4 billion from SNAP.  The House of Representatives passed legislation that reduced SNAP by $39 billion.

The cuts approved by the House would affect an estimated 165,000 people in North Carolina between the ages of 18 and 50, and according to Larry Wooten, president of the North Carolina Farm Bureau, it’s the difference in the amounts of cuts between the House and Senate versions that have “held the farm bill hostage”.

More HERE, from the News-&-Observer.